


Ignition

by greentailatte



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: One Shot, company au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 16:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30125346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greentailatte/pseuds/greentailatte
Summary: Wilbur regained his stake in Lichmannberg Industries, dozens of people willing to work under him, so why did it feel wrong, tainted, even just different? Maybe there's a way to turn the company back around, maybe it needs a new start.Before walking through the door, Wil closed his eyes, he recalled the bustling work of his employees, the back and forth banter between rows of desks, laughter reverberating throughout the whole building. He had missed Lichmannberg Industries and was delighted to be back.





	Ignition

_Before walking through the door, Wil closed his eyes, he recalled the bustling work of his employees, the back and forth banter between rows of desks, laughter reverberating throughout the whole building. He had missed Lichmannberg Industries and was delighted to be back._

* * *

Wil felt a frigid wind bite his cheeks as the elevator opened and he observed people working at their computers with a perturbed look. _What happened to this place?_ Amidst the monotony of the working office, a spark of joy seized his attention, a young man who seemed to be oddly content with themselves. With his interest peaked, Wil approached the boy and introduced himself. Surprisingly, the boy's face only lit up even more.

"Of course I recognise you! _Herr Berger_ , my name is Thomas Frauck and it is an honour to be working for you! I have a question though, I just completed my experimental prototype for a thermostatic refrigerator, and be honest, do you think it offers potential?"

Wil laughed, "Potential? It looks outstanding, the way the pipes work in parallel to siphon heat from one other is absolutely genius. This is genuinely innovative and screams Lichmannberg, I'd love to receive a report on this later today."

A sharp grin grew on Thomas's face, "Absolutely _mein herr_! I'll get to–" Thomas swivelled around, interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. A taller man whispered to him, Thomas listened for a moment before nodding and assuring the man. "Okay, sorry about that _mein herr_ , this is my colleague Elias, and he wanted me to introduce him and his project to you."

"Stop right there Thomas. If Elias wants me to know about _his_ project, he needs to show me himself. If our engineers can't be confident in their ideas and present them to me, how can the people of Traumendorf even be confident that they're effective?" An icy breeze circled the room, freezing Elias’s head in a bowed position

"It's a..." Elias stumbled on his words "Well, it's a perpetual motion heater. Although it's impossible to generate infinite energy, this utilises gravitational energy to produce heat more efficiently." Elias smiled with false niceties, but Wil wouldn't be impressed in the slightest by unoriginal and thoughtless ideas.

"Thomas, I look forward to your report." Elias' shoulders slumped; Thomas looked concerned but still overwhelmed by the praise that Wilhelm had paid him.

Walking off towards his office, Wil realised, Lichmannberg had changed, it wasn't what it once was, he wasn't even convinced he could bring the fire back to the company. There was just so much work that needed to be done.

Throughout the day, Wil settled for mumblings of 'oh yes, very good' and 'no, work on so and so before you come back' as employees buzzed in and out of his office door.

Wil's musings were disrupted as Thomas fumbled into the room, he was awkward sure, but Wil noticed a familiar gleam in his eyes that he saw in each person who had celebrated the 1- year anniversary of the company with him years ago.

"Um, _Herr Berger_ , I have the report you asked for, I believe it's satisfactory, but I'll be at my desk if any changes need to be made."

Wil smiled, "Stand up straight, Thomas. I will not have my men slouching; your work is good, quality. Take a short break and I'll get to reading these papers."

Thomas squirmed into a soldier's stance, "Yes sir! Thank you so much." His exasperated look morphed into a smile as he prepared to take a coffee break with his workmate Tobias. Wil sighed, exhausted. There were still sparks and embers that would re-ignite the furnace to cement Lichmannberg as the leading innovator in all of Traumendorf. _That_ had to be the fuel that would continue to fire his passion to fight back the changes and bring back a way of life at Lichmannberg.

As Wil relaxed his shoulders and began to tidy his desk, his secretary Nikita walked through the door, notepad in hand. " _Herr Berger_ , there is someone here to see you." Nikita looked at Wil with a level of concern that seemed to forbode a danger that was about to present itself.

As she turned around, a tall man in an emerald green suit walked past her, strolled towards Wilhelm, and closed the door behind him, extending his outstretched arm, "Klaus Lehmkuhl, pleased to make your acquaintance." Lehmkuhl presented a forced smile that Wil endeavoured to reciprocate.

"As am I, what brings you here, _mein herr_? "

"Well, I heard you'd returned to Lichmannberg. I was rather amused to say the least." Lehmkuhl paused, watching a quizzical frown form on Wil's visage. "Not quite what it once was, is it, Wilhelm? Long story short, I'm willing to take the company off of your hands, or at least what's left of it. You'll have to dissolve the company of course, scratch it off the face of Traumendorf, but my corporation will be open to absorbing the assets, as well as your debts. It’s time to move on." Lehmkuhl smiled, knowing that Wilhelm's attachment to the company was dwindling.

After several minutes, the office doors swung back open and the two men walked alongside each other, Wil bearing a solemn look on his face. From his right, Nikita asked, " _Herr Berger_ , are you alright?"

Wil glanced around the office, spotting Thomas and Tobias, calling them over to introduce themselves to Lehmkuhl and lead him out of the building. Wil turned back around, facing Nikita, "I'm fine, Klaus made a convincing proposal that would end Lichmannberg as we know it, I was almost convinced, it's just-" Wil grunted as Nikita lent forward.

" _Herr Berger_ , I knew from the beginning that he was bad business, nothing was your fault."

"But it was!" Wil shouted, causing the people around him to turn towards the two of them. Wil quickly apologised, whispering, "If only I hadn't been so arrogant, the company wouldn’t have fallen out of my grasp. My hubris led to the downfall of Lichmannberg, and we both know it'll never be the same."

"Wil. I see the way that you look at Thomas and Tobias, they are good people, they produce good work and deserve a leader that has full belief in their company. Support their growth into fine men of their own regard; it's the least you can do to help rebuild this company's legacy." A smile began to grow on Wil's face.

"Rebuild? That sounds nice, and... You're right, I can't abandon Thomas and Tobias either, they deserve to be supported and challenged."

Nikita smiled back at him as he paced around the office, "Thank you _Herr Berger_."

"All welcome, now I've got to finish off signing off some more papers, then I'll be done with this first day back." Wil stretched his arms as he uncapped his pen and laid out some documents in front of him.

"I'll leave you to it, _mein herr_." Nikita turned, leaving Wilhelm to complete his work.

After signing dozens of documents, Wil sighed, gripping his phone from his pocket and calling _+49 75 120899_. The phone buzzed until a man picked up.

"Hello Wilhelm, _Wie geht es Ihnen_?"

"Cut the crap Klaus, it's done, take care of Thomas."

"Naturally."

Wil hung up the phone, muttering under his breath; _It was never meant to be._

**Author's Note:**

> hello! ok so i'm guessing most of y'all are from tiktok, hi, welcome! here's 'ignition', a short story exploring the deteriorating relationship that wilbur has with l'manberg after schlatt's death - that is to say, disecting wilbur's thoughts between passing over his presidency to tommy, to blowing up l'manberg. thank you for even just reading, and i hope you enjoy! :)


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